Red Wine Lamb

With the weather thinking about turning colder and Sundays filled with sporting fixtures, I dig out my slow cooker and our meals turn into casseroles, stews and slowly tenderised meats.This is a very rich melt in the mouth alternative to the Roast which essentially uses the same ingredients but in a slightly different way.Ingredients Lamb Steaks OnionGarlicRosemaryAnchoviesRedcurrent jelly (or cranberry jelly)Red Wine – bottle Flour for thickening I cheat and do not fry the meat off first. it is usually a question of timing and I chop the onions and garlic

Put the slow cooker on high. I don’t tend to put any oil in as the meat creates its own.Add the onions and garlic.

The only reason I skim the leaves off the rosemary is the stalks become quite woody after cooking but add the leaves to the pot

Chop the anchovies into small pieces – don’t worry nobody will know they are in there (I promise), throw them into the pot as well.

Next just throw in the steaks, no need to cut them. I add my Jelly to the pot at this time. Redcurrent works really well but failing that I usually have cranberry jelly in the fridge so that can be a substitute.

Now it is the time for the Red wine – I confess it is always the bottle on offer at the supermarket and I don’t quite use all the bottle. Covering the meat is the most important thing and do remember to keep a tad back for thickening later on.

Almost done, you can forget about them for a few hours. I like to turn the cooker to low if I leave the house so I would suggest after about an hour and then it can be left. Re-entering the home you are met with the most wonderful nostalgic smell of roast lamb and gravy which means I am unable to resist opening the pot and turning the meat over. By now the steaks are no longer complete but in small bite size morcels that just melt in the mouth.

At least half an hour before serving mix a little flour with some of the left over wine

Stir it into a paste and then add to the casserole.

If there is alot of excess liquid – oil can be spooned off but if there is still too much gravy then wack the heat up to high and remove the lid for a while to reduce it. I tend to find once the flour paste is in it thickens anyway.Take off the heat at least 20mins before serving to allow all the flavours to settle and then serve with mashed potatoes and bright vegetables with mint jelly on the side. Simply devine and no chewing required as all the flavours just explode into a wonderful reminder of childhood roasts. If there is any sauce left, save it for gravy or stock for soup or stew.

This does not have to be cooked in a slow cooker – use a very hot oven initially with a covered stew pot then turn it to low for 5 hours or so giving you the same wonderful experience.Enjoy this and let me know what you think – if you prefer the traditional roast see my Slow Roast Lamb here.Have a look at the trials and tribulations of trying to be a writer at my Tiggy Hayes love Tiggy